Morning Read: ‘Anything Like This in All My Years in Politics’

Public Advocate Bill de Blasio is starting to learn what being a mayoral front-runner is like. From stories on undisclosed meetings with lobbyists to a city planning representative agreeing an “odd” amount of the time with the Bloomberg administration to an in-depth New York Times look into the challenges faced by his pre-K plan–including that his math was 0.1 percent off in the revenues needed to fund it–the heat has been turned on.

The New York Post‘s editorial board has its own perspective here. “Alone of the candidates of either major party, de Blasio has offered voters a vision,” they wrote, calling that vision as “ruinous.” “Contrast this approach with that of his two leading rivals, City Council Speaker Chris Quinn and former Comptroller Bill Thompson. Each is running on a standard New York Democratic mix of select union endorsements and a grab-bag of feel-good proposals.”

Mr. de Blasio’s wife, Chirlane McCray, and Ms. Quinn may have had their sharp disagreements recently in the mayor’s race, but in the comptroller’s contest, they’re both on Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer‘s team–as are various female politicos and actresses, some of whom are rallying later today. Rival Eliot Spitzer‘s rep responded, in the Post‘s words, “(without irony), ‘No one’s record on women’s issues is stronger than Eliot’s.'”

Two smaller newspapers have also weighed in on the mayoral election yesterday. The Villager endorsed Ms. Quinn while taking a critical look at both her record and Mr. de Blasio’s. The Jewish Press enthusiastically backed Mr. Thompson, who impressed them “with his calm demeanor, deliberative style and self-deprecating humor.”

GOP mayoral hopeful George McDonaldhad a longtime crush on Ms. Quinn, who of course is a married lesbian. “It’s alright,” McDonald explained. “I’ve told her.”